A Mother's Love
by Karin Skywalker
Summary: The Battle of Hogwarts, as seen from Tonks' POV. Rating just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Even though Remus has only been gone for just over an hour, it feels like days. I am so worried, I can't sit down for long. Teddy, my sweet, handsome boy, lies on the floor, contendedly blowing raspberries and laughing as each one pops. I can not help but smile, temporarily distracted. _He looks so much like Remus!_ I notice before I begin to pace again.

"Dora, _please_," mum pleads, "sit down and relax! Remus will be fine. He can take care of himself."

I sit down next to her and begin to wring my already wrinkled shirt. Mum takes one of my hands in hers and gives it a squeeze. I look into her face.

"I _know _Remus can watch out for himself," I say. "But that doesn't stop me from worrying. I have already lost my father to them! How will I live if they take Remus, too?"

"Don't think like that, Nymphadora!" mum scolds.

I wince at mum's use of my name, but she takes little notice.

"We have each other, and we have Teddy," she continues. "Remus _will_ come back. Everyone in the Order will. You'll see."

I roughly take my hand from mum's, stand up, and resume my pacing.

"I try not to think about it," I admit, "but the more I try _not_ to think about it, the more I _do_ think about it!"

We are silent. The silence becomes awkward. After several minutes of this, mum stands up and places herself in front of me. This successfully stops my pacing. She brushes my pinkish-brown hair from my face, then puts her hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eyes.

"You should go," she says.

"What?" I ask, eyes wide in surprise.

"Go to Hogwarts," mum explains. "Find Remus and help him."

"What about you?" I ask, searching her gaze. "What about Teddy?"

"I'll watch Teddy," mum says. "We'll be fine. Go."

I smile tearfully.

She smiles back. I pull her into a tight embrace. Then we part, and I bend down and pick up Teddy. He smiles and grabs handfuls of my hair. I smile, tears in my eyes. _This may be the last time I see him_, I think. I give him a tight hug, then give him to mum.

"I love you, mum," I say. "If anything happens to me. . ."

"Shhh. . . ." mum says. "I'll take good care of Teddy. You have my word, baby."

I give her a peck on the cheek, then I give Teddy a peck on the forehead.

"Mummy loves you, Teddy," I say. "So does daddy. A mother's love is infinite, even when she isn't here. Same goes for a daddy's love. Never forget that."

Teddy laughs in reply, smiling up at me. I smile back, then I run out the door and DisApparate before I could regret my decision.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I Apparate into Hogsmeade and am greeted by lots of noise. A moment later, I hear a pop and spin around to see an elderly woman not far from me.

"Mrs. Longbottom," I say politely.

"Nymphadora," she replies.

We run into the Hog's Head, and down the secret tunnel. Mrs. Longbottom seals the entrance behind us before following me. We arrive in the room at the other end and I am surprised to see Ginny there. She seems as surprised as I, then pleased.

"Tonks!" Ginny says, jumping up from her seat.

We share a brief embrace. Then I look into her brown eyes anxiously.

"Any news?" I ask.

"No," Ginny says sadly.

After a few moments of worried silence, Harry comes down a short flight of stairs. After he informs us of the goings-on of the battle, I rush out the room without another word. Ginny comes up not long after me. We stand at a window nearby, both looking for friends and loved ones. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione join us, Ginny and I have sent many a curse into the fighting below. Then, Aberforth Dumbledore comes through the corridor. I ask him about Remus, and after he replies, I follow him into battle.

Before I knew it, I had killed or seriously injured numerous Death Eaters, all of whom had been aiming to kill. However, I am determined to not let anything prevent me from finding Remus. I am running past a staircase when I hear a shriek. . . .


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

When I hear the shriek, my blood runs cold, for I recognize the voice. I run down the staircase, hoping that I am wrong about the voice. There is another shriek when I get down to the next floor, and to my horror, I see Ginny. Somehow, she had beat me down from the floor above and was currently dueling two Death Eaters. My motherly, protective nature goes into overdrive, for Ginny is the closest thing to a sister I have—besides Hermione. I run to her aid, and notice that she is putting up quite a fight. However, she seems to be tiring out and she is covered in cuts and bruises. There are two deep cuts—one on her arm and another on her side—which no doubt caused her to shriek.

I manage to get equal with her, and send a Shield Charm in front of us in time to prevent being hit with a Killing Curse from one of the Death Eaters. I send a Killing Curse right back at him, and it hits dead-center. Then I notice the behavior of the other Death Eater. He seems torn between retaliating or fleeing. And, seconds before he decides, I realize what he will do. He aims his wand at Ginny, and I push her away without thinking, so that the wand is aimed at me.

I hear not one, but two voices yell out a protest as the spell leaves the wand. Everything seems to slow down for me, and I see that Remus is not far off. He begins to run towards us, fear on his face. Ginny is also fearful, and is watching me with large eyes.

"I love you, Ginny," I whisper. "I love you, Remus."

I know that they can both hear me. Ginny has tears in her eyes. A vivid memory of Teddy occurs to me, one of him blowing raspberries and laughing at me and mum. Then, the curse hits me and I see a flash of green light.


End file.
